Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ed4444]

I am teaching business at a Korean University.

We have some National Holidays coming up for Children's day and Buddha's birthday so the University is closed those days.

Then, they told us we have to make up the classes that were meant to take place on those days at some other time during the semester (e.g a Saturday or Friday afternoon). This sounds odd to me.

Opinions?

[Feebie]

It's happening more and more these days. The university have to make sure a certain number of classes are offered, so some are having teachers 'make up' those missed for NHs, election day (June 4th) and even school birthday's (if closed).

[hogwonguy1979]

apparently this policy is now being implemented nationwide, some universities have been doing this for a while now (Hongik since 2007). As of last fall at my last university we had to do it too, to say the least most of us were upset.

What most people do is say and schedule the make up classes on paper but then tell the students they won't take attendance etc so nobody shows up

What is likely going to happen is most univs are going to abandon the 15 week semester and go to 16 weeks to make up the lost days

[Stan Rogers]

This may sound like a stupid question, but if a holiday really isn't a holiday then why is it a holiday at all?

[sigmundsmith]

So, a good question is, Should those make-up classes be counted as overtime?

The staff have committed their obligations but national holidays do occur. If it is required that they must complete a certain amount of classes/hours in a semester, then shouldn't that be put into the contract.

Under most contracts it states that the teachers will teach 15 weeks per semester but not class numbers or hours per semester.

[Stan Rogers]

I have another question. Why is it that the faculty and students have to make up for holidays but the staff do not? I think it should be, everybody gets a holiday or nobody gets a holiday.

[ed4444]

[Unposter]

The Ministry of Education requires university classes to meet for at least 15 weeks.

Besides the fact that if they did not mandate this, some profs, most likely of the Korean nationality, would cancel classes a lot, the expectation is that since you get like 20 weeks of vacation, you should at least teach all your classes during the semester, regardless of national holidays.

If you are not getting summer and winter vacations, I would complain. But, if you are, this should be a no skin off my back kind of thing.

And, yes, this is primarily a matter of paperwork.

[Feebie]